On the Cover
Three fires struck the South Boston section of Boston within three hours during the late-night and early-morning hours of Oct. 29-30, 2000. The incidents included a working fire, a five-alarm blaze and a nine-alarm-plus fire. All occurred within the same first-alarm district of South Boston companies. Investigations determined the fires started from legitimate causes. Nearly all of the buildings involved were three-story wood-frame triple-deckers. Firefighters were hampered during the night by 40 mph winds. It took 200 firefighters to battle the blazes, which left 120 people homeless, including the family of a Boston firefighter.
Dedication
This month's Firehouse® is dedicated to Deputy Chief Ronald Haner, 61, of the Portage, MI, Fire Department; Firefighter Keith Purcell, 47, of the Southold, NY, Fire Department; Firefighter David Anderson, 43, of the Manchester, NH, Fire Department; and Lieutenant Scott Gillen, 37, of the Chicago Fire Department, who died in the line of duty, December 2000; and to Firefighter Maurice Bartholemew, 30, of the Pensacola, FL, Fire Department, who died in the line of duty, November 2000.
